The present invention relates to a new use of the bark of the prickly ash tree which, more particularly, constitutes a method for the treatment of ailments, such as ailments including, without limitation, hemorrhoids and heart disease.
It has, in the prior art, been known that various plants, herbs, bushes, and the like, will yield certain beneficial medicinal effects. More particularly, and in the context of the instant invention, two types of prickly ash trees have been identified. These, in scientific nomenclature, have been termed Xanthoxylum americanum Mill and the Xanthoxylum clava-herculis L. These plant species are, in the American vernacular, known as the northern prickly ash tree and the southern prickly ash tree. The southern prickly ash is also known as the hercules club prickly ash.
The Merck index of pharmacological agents states that the compound known as xanthoxylum is found in the bark of both the northern and southern prickly ash.
The book "A Guide to Medicinal Plants", by Krochmal, published by Quadrangle Books, indicates that the northern prickly ash (Xanthoxylum americanum Mill) is a shrub or small tree growing from five to ten feet in height. The leaves are alternate and compound, with five to eleven leaflets. The sterns are petioles and are often prickly. The greenish white flower thereof is small and inconspicuous, and its fruit is reddish, globe-shaped, and aromatic. Krochmal also states that alternate names for the northern prickly ash are american prickly ash, common prickly ash, pellitory bark, toothache bush , toothache tree and yellow wood. Said reference further states that the northern prickly ash is found on river banks and in rich moist woods from New England southward to Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia and westward to North Dakota and Oklahoma.
With respect to its usages, Krochmal states that Indians used the bark as a remedy for toothache, and employed a powder of the bark with water to treat colic, rheumatism, and gonorrhea. Said reference also states that the Indians made the bark into a poultice in combination with bear grease for the purpose of treating sores and ulcers. Krochmal further states that Indians applied the bark to infected wounds to draw out fluids. Also, seeds of the northern prickly ash were employed as a remedy for toothache, and the berries were used in cough syrup to induce the coughing of phlegm. Further, Krochmal states that ripe berries were used in hot water to produce a spray for the treatment of mouth sores.
With regard to the southern prickly ash (the Xanthoxylum clava-herculis L.) Krochmal points out that the southern prickly ash is a shrub or small tree which is five to ten feet in height. The leaves are alternate, compound and with five to eleven leaflets. The stems and petioles are often prickly. The flowers are greenish white, small and inconspicuous. The fruit is a reddish globular to elliptic aromatic capsule, with prickles.
Alternate names for the southern prickly ash are the hercules club, pillenterry, sea ash, scrubby prickly ash, string-a-tong, toothache tree, wait-a-bit and wild orange. Krochmal states that the southern prickly ash is found in sand hills, thickets, dry woods, coastal areas, river banks, and sand dunes. Geographically, it is found in Southern Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Oklahoma.
Krochmal also notes that the southern prickly ash was used by the Indians for a wide range of ailments. More particularly, a mixture of the bark with water was used for the treatment of gonorrhea and the bark itself was used as a treatment for toothache. Roots of the southern prickly ash boiled in water were used to induce perspiration. Krochmal further indicates that both Indians and early settlers mixed the inner bark of the southern prickly ash with bear grease and applied it as a poultices to treat ulcers. Also, ripe berries were boiled in hot water to make a spray and blown onto the chest and throat as a treatment for chest ailments. Further, the bark was used for inflammation of the throat.
In addition, the inner bark of the southern prickly ash was boiled in water to produce a lotion for the treatment of various itches. The berries of the prickly ash were considered a tonic, a stimulant, an anti-rheumatic, and effective in the relief of gas, colic, and muscle spasms.
The Merck index indicates that the constituents of xanthoxylum (the active ingredient in prickly ash) include xanthoxylin-N, acrid volatile oil, resin, and tannin.
Volume I of the work entitled a "Hodern Herbal", by Grieve, published by Dover Books, points out that the prickly ash species is a member of a larger botanical family known as the Yellow Wood (Rutaceae) family, all of which possess aromatic and pungent properties. Grieve points out that both the root bark and the berries are used medicinally, and have achieved some official recognition by the mention of the bark and berries thereof in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia. Grieve indicates that the southern prickly ash is believed to be the more medically active of the two species. Further, Grieve states that although the two species are not identical, the respective barks are very similar in terms of the active constituent, namely, xanthoxylum. Also, Grieve indicates that both barks contain small amounts of volatile oil, fat, sugar, gum, acrid, resin, and a bitter alkaloid, believed to be berberine, as well as the above mentioned xanthoxylin which is a colorless, tasteless, crystalline substance which appears in slightly different forms in the bark of the respective species. Grieve further states that the bark of both species yields twelve per cent or more of xanthoxylin. Grieve further states that the northern prickly ash bark exists in commerce and is sold as curved or quilt fragments about 1/24 of one inch (about one millimeter) thick and that the bark of the southern prickly ash is generally sold in 1/12 inch thickness (about two millimeters).
With respect to its medicinal action and usages, Grieve states that the prickly ash has been recommended in the U.S. for chronic rheumatism, typhoid, skin disease and impurity of the blood, and is administered either in the form of a fluid or in dosages of 10 grains (650 milligrams) to 0.5 drams (885 milligrams) in the powdered form, taken three times a day. Grieve goes on to state that the powdered bark forms an excellent application to indolent ulcers and old wounds for cleaning stimulating, drying up and healing such wounds, and that the pulverized bark is used for infections and nervous headaches.
Finally, Grieve states that the berries of the prickly ash are considered even more active that the bark, the berries being carminative and antispasmodic, and are used as an aspirin and for dyspepsia indigestion.
By virtue of the above, it may be appreciated that the bark and berries of species of the prickly ash have been employed in a number of medical applications. However, none of these applications have been concerned with ailments of the vascular system and, more particularly, no use of products of the prickly ash tree has occurred in connection with the treatment of hemorrhoids or cardiovascular disorders. Accordingly the instant invention may be viewed as a new use of a known composition of matter.